By Trendsetter Tribune 
In a significant ruling regarding freedom of expression, the UK High Court has upheld the acquittal of a man who burned a copy of the Quran during a public protest.
The court dismissed an appeal by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to reinstate a conviction against Hamit Coskun, who was originally charged with a religiously aggravated public order offence following a demonstration outside the Turkish Embassy in London in February 2025.
Key Aspects of the Judgment
- Protection of Offensive Speech: Lord Justice Warby and Ms. Justice Obi stated that while the act was offensive, freedom of expression must include the right to express views that “shock or disturb.”
- Legitimate Protest: The ruling clarified that behaviour can be disorderly and offensive, yet still not criminal if it constitutes a “reasonable” form of protest.
- Separation of Religion and Criminal Law: The court rejected the argument that burning a holy book is in itself a criminal act, emphasizing that criminal law exists to protect people from harm, not to police religious sensibilities.
Context of the Case
Hamit Coskun, an asylum seeker from Turkey, argued his actions were a political protest against the Turkish government rather than an act of hatred toward individual Muslims. During his initial protest, Coskun was attacked by a bystander, highlighting the intense emotions surrounding such demonstrations.
Campaigners for free speech have welcomed the decision, arguing that prosecuting such acts risks reintroducing “blasphemy laws by the back door” in the UK, where such laws were abolished in 2008.